Six stories that matter this week:
1. The EU just voted 96-to-20 in favour of the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation - mandatory recycled plastic content in new cars. 15% within the next six years, 25% within ten, with at least a fifth sourced from scrapped vehicles.
It still needs Plenary and Council sign-off, but the direction is quite locked in. Design-for-recycling requirements, an End-of-Life Vehicle export ban, and cross-border EPR are all part of the package.
Why this matters beyond auto? Cars are economic bellwethers. When regulators redesign how a car ends its life, they’re also redesigning material flows across the entire chain.
2. Still speaking of cars: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrapped up a two-day visit to China this week. Context? China overtook the US last year as Germany’s biggest trade partner. He brought executives from Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes, and visited a Mercedes plant in Beijing for a self-driving demo.
Merz follows Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and Canada’s Mark Carney in making the trip to Beijing - as Trump’s trade policies push them to hedge. Trump himself is expected to visit from March 31.
3. Speaking of Trump - across the globe, another trade policy is in freefall.
The U.S Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s IEEPA tariffs. He, then, responded with a 10% global tariff under Section 122 (never used before), then bumped it to 15%.
What happened next? The EU suspended its summer trade deal. India deferred talks. The UK is scrambling to confirm its negotiated rate still holds. Trump warned that countries “playing games“ with the ruling would face worse. (What does “play games“ mean, though?)
The policy hasn’t changed, the Trump administration says. Just the legal tool to implement it. For manufacturers and materials importers, uncertainty is the policy for 2026.
4. Down to South America, the Amazon Soy Moratorium is cracking in Brazil.
ABIOVE - members include Cofco, Bunge, Amaggi, JBS - says it’ll no longer avoid soy grown on deforested land. The moratorium cut deforestation in monitored areas by ~70% since 2006. Estimates said this could push Amazon deforestation up 30% by 2045.
Meanwhile, soy-growing areas in the Brazilian Amazon have already tripled since 2008. The moratorium slowed the bleeding. Now, even that guardrail is being pulled. Meanwhile, in the EU, the EUDR deadline is not to re-negotiate.
5. A few months back - but underreported: China’s TMSR-LF1, built by the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, completed the world’s first thorium-to-uranium fuel conversion.
They’ve figured out how to turn one of the most abundant elements on Earth into usable nuclear fuel, inside a reactor that runs on liquid instead of solid rods. That means no refuelling shutdowns, better fuel utilisation, and significantly less radioactive waste than conventional reactors. The next target: a 100 MWt demonstration project by 2035.
This is the kind of Energy R&D that could potentially reshape industrial planning over the next few decades. To dive further, read our China Industrial Stack 2026 Report and download a quick guide to China’s 5 Industrial Megazones - to find out which one is relevant for you.
6. And finally - this week, MatterIndex is live.
A global material intelligence ranking for brands. 2,586 B2C consumer brands so far ranked across 10,000+ evidence points - patents, certifications, product launches, verified public sources.
Our system continues to scan every hour for new brands doing meaningful work on designs & materials to add to the list. If yours is one of them, submit directly on MatterIndex, in the chat section.
Enjoy your weekend. Stay sharp - and keep building.
Anh
On behalf of the Tocco team
Further Readings⋅ Material Intelligence & More ⋅ 02.2026
(Malaysia 🇲🇾) - Malaysia announces immediate ban on e-waste imports
It is an immediate and full ban. Millions of containers carrying e-waste such as broken phones, laptops, microwaves and televisions are shipped to the country every year
(UK 🇬🇧) - The UK Government has officially published the final UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) for voluntary use
The standards are based on the first two issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB): IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.
(USA 🇺🇸) - Economic downturn forces LyondellBasell to trim sustainability goals
LyondellBasell, a Houston-based chemical and polymer producer, reduced its annual recycled polymer goal from 2 million to 800,000 metric tons and cut its 2030 emissions reduction target from 42% to 32%, citing market shifts and regulatory changes.
(Global 🌏) - Top 28 Founders Shaping the Future of Algae-Based Materials
Algae is a new, exciting frontier. Meet Tocco’s picks - 28 visionary founders using seaweed and microalgae to contribute to a cleaner, smarter materials world.
(Brazil 🇧🇷) - Material Longevity and Pragmatic Architecture
Architect Carolina Souza Pinto (OSPA) talks about a “maintenance-first” way to choose materials. She uses local resources and new concrete ideas.